a faunal collection of the birds of the United States and the region 

 thence northward to Greenland and the Arctic Ocean. Nearly 

 every species and subspecies known from "North America," as 

 thus limited, is represented by one or more specimens. 



The " South American " birds occupy the remaining cases 

 (F to J) on the east side of the Hall, and include the birds from 

 Mexico, the West Indies, and Central America, as well as South 

 America. 



The Old World birds occupy all of the cases on the west side 

 of the Hall. Each collection is arranged systematically, or in 

 accordance with the classification adopted in the present Guide. 

 The series, beginning at the north end of the Hall, starts with the 

 Song Birds, the "highest" or most specialized group, and ends 

 with the lowest, which in the North American birds are the 

 Auks, Loons, and Grebes, and in the South American and Old 

 World the Penguins and Struthious Birds, these groups being re- 

 spectively the "lowest" or most generalized. With the Old 

 World birds are arranged many New World birds — duplicates 

 of species also represented in the North American and South 

 American collections. The series on the west side of the Hall 

 is thus to a certain degree a general systematic collection of the 

 birds of the world, although consisting principally of Old World 

 species. 



In the present Guide the sequence of groups accords with the 

 growing custom, and by far the most rational system, of beginning 

 with the lowest or most generalized forms and ending with the 

 highest or most specialized in any system of zoological classifica- 

 tion. As the main entrance to the Hall will, with the completion 

 of the present addition at the Seventy-seventh Street end of the 

 building, be at the western end of the Hall, the arrangement of 

 the Guide will be also that of the birds in the cases. 



Besides the mounted birds in the large cases, the Bird Hall 

 contains a series of separate groups of birds, mounted with their 

 nests and natural surroundings, which will be found described at 

 length at the end of the Guide (pp. 59-62). Also a series of 

 cabinets containing the collection of nests and eggs. These 

 occupy the first four alcoves on the east side of the Hall, between 

 the cases numbered A to F. Glass cases resting on the tops of 



